One in a Million
by Opium Pocky
Summary: Ryan and Troy had never give each other a second thought. But when the run into each other after class and sparks fly, will things change? Or will things stay the same? Rated M for later chapters. Troy x Ryan.
1. A Chance Collision

Hey! This is my first story, so be nice. I'd like some feed back on this. No real plot line has been set up as of yet, just sorting setting it for things. I'm open to suggestions and allt hat stuff. I'm trying to keep the characters as close to the actual movie characters as I can, feedback on that would be just wonderful. Anyway, hope you like it, please review.

Disclaimer: Everyone seems to do this so, yeah. Don't own HSM or anything like that.

**One in a Million**

Chapter 1: A Chance Collision

Ms. Darbus's voice droned on and on for what seemed like ever. Ryan Evans sat there, truly trying to pay attention to whatever it is she was saying, in her normal theatrical tone, as she waltzed about the front of the room. But alas, it was to no avail. He found his eye lids drooping down from the massive amount of boredom that the drama teacher was heaping on her class. Normally he was interested in what she had to say because it was about the theater. And he was the drama king after all. But she was going on about some Broadway play that was coming out in the next month or so. Ryan wanted to hear about the next school musical. Trying to keep himself awake, Ryan turned his head, trying to find anything interesting. It wasn't that difficult of a task for he was sitting right next to the window.

Looking out of the large glass window, Ryan observed the outside of the school. The freshly cut green grass was shining in the sun while the trees' branches rustled in the wind. 'It'd be nice to just lie there.' Ryan thought to himself as he watched the grass fan up and down as the cool breeze brushed across it. He wanted to just lie there and soak up the sun until Ms. Darbus was done with whatever she was ranting about now.

"Mr. Evans," Ryan's head shot back to the front of the classroom, "Is there something more interesting out there than what I have to say?" She asked in a very dramatic voice.

'Yes.' Ryan thought to himself, "No." He answered in monotone voice, and he pretended to once again focus on her as she continued her ranting.

Across the room, Troy Bolton sat, hung halfway over his desk, propping his head up with his arm. Since he was no where near a window, he entertained himself by trying to blow the hair out of his eyes over and over again. Ever since he was in the spring musical, he had like the drama department a whole lot more, but this was just torture. His eyes wandered back to the clock again, which he had been eyeing for the past ten minutes. "Five...four...," he counted to himself as he watched the clock, "three...two..."

Just as he said "one" the bell rang, signaling the end of the day, and all of the students quickly got up and eagerly shuffled to the door. Except for Ryan. He stood up slowly, slung his messenger bag over his head and proceeded to follow Sharpay out the door. She always waited for everyone to leave so no one would bump into her. She had even waited for Ms. Darbus to leave.

Ryan lazily followed his twin sister, closing his eyes to yawn. He hadn't taken five steps before he crashed into something; something hard. Stumbling back, Ryan fell to the floor, landing hard on his butt with a loud thud. Sharpay had already exited the room so she couldn't have seen what had happened. Not that she would've have made a difference anyway.

The small blonde boy groaned, rubbing his nose, eyes still closed. "Oww..." He muttered, still trying to rub the pain out, "Stupid door frame...that's the fourth time this week."

"Sorry about that, dude." Ryan looked up and saw none other than East High's basketball star, Troy Bolton, who was obviously trying to hold back laughter, "Lemme help you up." The tall brunette reached down and grabbed the hand that Ryan was using to rub his nose, and with one strong pull, Ryan was on his feet."You ok?"

Ryan shook his head, trying to get his embarrassment out of his face, and tried to smile, "Yeah, sorry. Wasn't watching where I was going." He was a bit dizzy from how quickly he was yanked up.

"Again." Troy smiled back, "That's the forth time this week you've hit the door frame." He said sarcastically with a small laugh. Ryan laughed too, but it was more of a "I'm stupid" kind of laugh as his face turned a light shade of pink.

"Yeah...well, I wasn't paying attention, I guess." The meek boy said softly trying to return his face to it's natural color. 'He heard that?' He thought in utter embarrassment.

"No worries." Troy gave his signature smile, "I'll see ya around." With that he walked off, leaving Ryan in a blur.

Normally, Ryan could compose himself in manner that wasn't so embarrassing. Boys had never made him blush so easily in the past. No matter how cute they were. No that he thought Troy was cute or anything. But he did have a nice smile. Ryan shook his head clear of his annoying thoughts and exited the classroom. Making his way down the empty hallway, he gazed lazily around. There was no sign of the basketball star anywhere. For some reason this made the drama king frown.

'Why am I frowning,' Ryan thought to himself. 'I've never cared where Troy was before. Except when he was in the spring musical. And that was only because he stole my role. But then again, I didn't really mind. Sharpay is the angry twin. I'm more of the quite shy one.' He nodded to himself, 'Being an understudy was a new experience. Not that I'd want to repeat it.' The blonde was deep in conversation with himself as he strode down the hallway of the school. 'And I've never blushed that easily before either. I guess I was just caught off guard. I did think he was a wall after all.'

The blonde boy let out a small laugh.

'Yeah, a wall. He did have a pretty rock hard body though...' His thoughts trailed off. Unfortunately, his imagination he was cut short by a locker door slamming shut. Ryan lifted his head up to see his sister, Sharpay, standing in front of him. She looked slightly annoyed, but then again, she always did.

"What took you so long?" She said, a smile appearing on her face, "Walk into the door frame again?"

"Yeah..." Ryan lied, his cheeks turning a slight pink color.

"Isn't that the forth time this week?" She asked, in her high pitched, pretend to be innocent, voice.

"Something like that. Let's go." The boy said quickly, trying to change the subject.

"Ok!" Sharpay shrugged and bounded off in the direction of the exit.

"Whew." Ryan let out a sigh of relief as he followed her out the exit. He didn't want her to know that he actually ran into Troy. That would've started awkward conversations. He knew that one of her million questions would've been what did it feel like. And that is something that he did not want to get into at the moment. Or even think about.

Ryan gulped. Or did he?

Troy dug through the mess in his locker, looking for a textbook. It was such a mess inside the small metal rectangle that he wasn't having much luck finding it. Dropping a few papers on the white tiled floor, the tall basketball player bent down, till sifting through the junk in his locker.

"They should make lockers bigger..." He muttered in frustration, not finding the book he wanted.

After about five more minutes of desperate searching, he let out a big huff and gave up. Sitting down on the floor, his mind trailed back to the "meeting" he had had with Ryan. He let out a small laugh, remembering that Ryan had thought he was the door frame. 'I guess that means that he thought my body was pretty hard' He smiled.

Realizing what he was thinking, he quickly shook his and stood up. Quickly shoving the mess back in his locker, he turned on his heel and started for the exit. Why had that thought made his smile? And thinking about the whole crashing into each other incident, why had he been smiling the whole time he had talked to Ryan. Watching the way his face turned red and his whole body tense up when Troy had tease him about the door frame. Wasn't that the way he talked to girls when he flirted with them? Teasing them innocently to make the feel embarrassed and give him the upper hand? Troy shook his head for a final time, determined to keep his mind off these disturbing thoughts and started to walk home, at a rather fast pace.


	2. Confused or Not?

Second chapter. It would've been up sooner, but it kept rejecting the document thingy. Oh well. Here it is. It's a lot longer than the first chapter. I hope you like it. I was thinking about splitting it into two chapters, but I want to put at least a little action into the story. So here it is. Please review. 3

Disclaimer: Don't own HSM or Dj Sammy featuring Yanou & Do's song Heaven.

**Chapter 2: Confused or Not?**

Troy Bolton ran a hand through his short brown hair. He was laying out in the grass looking up at the full moon. He often would lay in the grass right outside his house and stare up at the sky when he had something on his mind. But that something was usually a basketball game, or something of that nature. He would have never imagined that one day he'd be sitting out here thinking about a boy.

The grass was still warm after the hot day and Troy could feel the heat seeping from the grass to his back. It felt nice and it seemed to comfort him. His deep blue eyes slowly scanned the darkened sky, stopping every few seconds to gaze at a pattern of stars or at an airplane passing by. He let out a soft sigh and continued to examine the endless dark purple sky.

He had thought long and hard about his opinions on Ryan. And, after all of his contemplation, he had finally come up with an answer. He was totally and utterly confused! It seemed to him that he didn't know anything about anything anymore. Each time he constructed a new alibi for what had happened, the image of Ryan's blushing face came into mind and he suddenly couldn't remember what he had been thinking. It was rather frustrating.

'I know!' Troy thought, 'Ryan was sick. That's right! And that's why his face was all red. Yeah! He wasn't blushing. He was about to throw up.'

Letting out an disheartened groan, Troy looked directly at them full moon, 'Am I...gay?'

Slowly, the basketball captain rolled over, burying his face in the warm grass. 'I can't be though...I like Gabriella. Don't I? No...I don't think I do. Not like that.'

Rolling back over and sitting up, he gave a defeated huff. 'I am not gay.' He thought with a nod, 'I am just...confused.'

"Being confused makes you tired." He muttered through a yawn.

Troy smiled to himself. That didn't sound so bad; confused. He liked it. Mainly because nothing was set in stone. Well, he didn't like the fact that he wasn't sure of his sexuality, but at least he wasn't gay. Accepting this new found fact, he took one last look at the stars, and headed back inside to go to bed.

**HSM**

Ryan let out huge sigh and flung himself back on his bed. Looking up at his ceiling he rolled over, trying to get comfortable. Snuggling himself into the soft blankets he gave a sigh of relaxation. He loved just laying there, not worrying about anything. Which is what he mostly did.

He had not given much thought about the little incident that had happened with the Wild Cats' star, Troy. He merely saw it as he had been out of it, again, and walked into him, instead of the door frame.

But what he saw it as, and what he wanted it to be were two very different things. Ryan had admitted to himself that he was gay sometime back. He had never told anyone officially. He just assumed that everyone had figured it out. It wasn't like he was hanging all over guys or flirting with them left and right or anything. Ryan had actually never had a real boyfriend before. He guessed it was mainly because of the way he dressed and the fact that he was very involved in the drama department of the school. But Troy had made him feel really embarrassed. And Ryan couldn't lie to himself that he did indeed wish Troy was gay.

Anyway, no one ever asked Ryan if he was gay, and no one had ever treated him any differently. This made Ryan very happy. He wasn't good with confrontations. He always avoided them. That's part of the reason he always followed in his twin sister's shadow. She seemed to love deputes. So it was nice to have her fight all the battles instead of having to involve himself in any of the trouble.

"Ryan!!" Sharpay came bursting in through the door, her voice sounded extremely terrified..

"What?!" Ryan screamed in shock.

After standing in the door way, breathing very deeply, she smiled innocently and said, "Whatca doin'?"

"You almost gave me a heart attack!" The blonde boy cried, looking at his sister as if she were completely crazy.

"You're just easy to fool." She laughed and walked over to him, sitting herself on the bed next to him. "So, what's new?"

"Well, actually-" Ryan started but was cut off.

"Yeah, anyway." She shook her head, her long blonde hair falling over her shoulders, "Do you know what I'm thinking?" Ryan was about to answer, "Of course you do. The musical is coming up soon and we need to be ready!" She answered for him.

"Ms. Darbus didn't even say anything about it though." Ryan interjected.

"No matter!" Sharpay yelled, "It will come...eventually! And we must be prepared."

"Is this what you came in here to tell me?"

"Yes." She stood up and smiled at him. "Toodles."

With that she exited the room with the same speed that she entered, hitting the light switch by accident. Ryan had noticed that Sharpay had been acting a lot stranger ever since she had been beaten out for the lead role last year. Shrugging, Ryan turned back to his pillow and re-snuggled himself in. Maybe school would be a little more interesting tomorrow. Ryan smiled to himself before drifting off to sleep.

**HSM**

Ryan walked through the front doors of the high school as usual; following Sharpay that is. He was dressed in his normal fancy attire, but today he wanted to look extra good. But after deciding that every piece of clothing that he own looked pretty much amazing, he just picked out what matched Sharpay. But he was wearing his lucky hat today. He didn't know why he wanted to look his best today, but it made him feel happy, so here he was.

Walking quickly to keep up with Sharpay as they made their way to their English classroom, Ryan's eyes darted back and forth through the hallway. He scanned each person for about a second before moving on to the next. Finally, as the twins rounded a corner, Ryan saw what he was searching for.

Troy stood there, leaning against a wall, talking to his normal basketball crowd. Ryan smiled to himself, as he unconsciously gave Troy a full body scan. His eyes traveled down Troy's muscular chest, down his cut stomach, and down even further. The basketball player's shirt was just a little too tight today and Ryan could practically see the muscles on the older boy.

Unfortunately for Ryan, when his eyes moved back up to Troy's face, his beautiful deep blue eyes were looking right at him. Quickly getting rid of the smile on his face, Ryan turned a deep shade of red and snapped his head in the other direction.'Oh goodness." He thought in terror, 'He's gonna call me out in front of everyone.'

But to Ryan's shock, nothing happened. Both him and Sharpay entered their classroom and took their usual seats. Ryan let out a huge sigh of relief. As he thought to himself that he should be more careful were his eyes wonder, the bell rang and the teacher started his normal lecture about what they were going to be learning that day.

Instead of listening to the teacher though, Ryan's mind wandered to Troy. He didn't know why Troy hadn't said anything. Normally straight guys wouldn't tolerate looks like that from a gay guy. 'Could this mean...?' Ryan thought to himself. 'No.' He shook his head, he could feel his heart sink. Finally, Ryan resolved to just forget the whole thing, and avoid Troy. After all, he didn't like confrontation.

**HSM**

Troy sat in his chemistry class, a little befuddled. Ryan had been checking him out. He took a deep breath and tried to swallow the big lump in his throat. It had only been a few seconds that Troy had noticed Ryan's gaze on him, but he was certain. Ryan Evans had checked him out. Letting out his breath, he turned to his lab partner and tried to focus on what they were doing.

"You ok?"

Troy looked up to see Gabriella, his lab partner, looking at him with concern.

"Yeah," he smiled at her. "Just, you know, don't get any of this." He laughed shakily as he pointed at their lab assignment.

"It's actually not that hard." The dark hair girl smiled, returning to her normal peppy self, "When you add just enough of something to a solution that it can dissolve, without going over that limit, then it becomes a saturated solution. But when you add more than that limit, it becomes a super-saturated solution. And if you heat a super-saturated solution long enough for that extra material to be dissolved, and let it cool, the all you have to do is disturb that delicate balance and will crystalize instantly. It's how they make rock candy."

"Right..." Troy nodded, not understanding a word she has said.

"Good." Gabriella smiled and poured an orange liquid into a beaker.

Returning his mind to more important matters, Troy asked himself why Ryan checking him out wasn't bothering him. He felt that he should be outraged and appalled. It was a gay guy checking him, Troy Bolton, the completely straight guy out. Sighing, Troy put his head down on the desk in front of him. He was very frustrated and angry at himself. He didn't feel that way at all about the situation. In fact, when the whole thing was happening, Troy had felt light headed. His heart has skipped a beat and this breath caught in his lungs.

Troy finally lifted his head up. 'That's it!' He thought in rage, 'Troy Bolton does not run away from his problems. He confronts them head on! I'm going to find Ryan during free period and sort this whole thing out.'

Nodding to make his plan final, Troy turned back to Gabriella, who was now babbling about something else he didn't understand.

"You don't understand?" Gabriella looked at him.

"Story of my life."

**HSM**

Troy walked down the hallway towards the auditorium. He thought that it was the most likely place that he could find Ryan. It was free period, so most people were outside, enjoying the beautiful sun shine. As Troy approached the entrance of the auditorium, he slowed his walk down, making sure that he didn't make a sound. He didn't want to be noticed incase other people were in the room. He had made up his mind that he was only going to do this if it was just him and Ryan.

Peeking his head in the doors, he took a look around the large room. At once he spotted Ryan, who was standing on stage looking up into the lights. Ignoring him for a minute, Troy scanned the room, making sure no one else was currently there. Smiling to himself when he came to the conclusion that Ryan was the only one in there, Troy walked into the auditorium.

As he got closer to the stage, he could hear Ryan singing. It was soft, but Troy could hear the words. Troy just watched as he made his way slowly to the stage. 'Ryan looks pretty...good...today.' He thought as he tip-toed to the stage.

"Baby you're all that I want." His voice was soft and strong.

"When you're lying here in my arms.

I'm finding it hard to believe.

We're in heaven."

As Troy reached the front of the stage, he took a rather loud step, and Ryan spun around. Obviously surprised to see Troy there, Ryan's eyes opened a little wider than usual and his face turned a light shade of red. That seemed to be the normal reaction that Ryan had when he was Troy. This made Troy smile, although he didn't know why. Just something about seeing the blood rush to the shorter blonde's face made Troy feel so excited.

"Hey!" Troy said, shaking his head clear of his thoughts.

"Uh, hi..." Ryan said back, still a little confused.

"You sounded great." Troy smiled, pulling himself up on the stage.

"You think so?" Ryan's eyes light up with happiness.

"Yeah!" Troy exclaimed, completely forgetting why he was there. "I haven't heard that song in a while. It used to be one of my favorites."

"Oh, me too." Ryan smiled, also forgetting about his embarrassment.

"How does the rest of it go?" Troy asked, while scratching his head, trying to remember the lyrics to the song.

"Love is all that I need." Ryan began, singing again.

"And I found it there in your heart." Troy sang, finally remembering.

"It isn't to hard to see." Ryan smiled as he sung.

"We're in heaven." Both of the boys finished, their voices softly singing the ending of the chorus.

The two boys laughed. "We sounded pretty good." Troy nudged Ryan in the shoulder with his fist.

As soon as Troy's hand came in contact with Ryan's body, a shock ran through both boys. They stood there, unmoving, looking into each other's eyes. They both had felt the spark. But neither looked like they wanted to admit it. Troy's eyes lowered, traveling towards the floor, where they normally looked when he was unsure of himself.

"Um, Troy?" Ryan mustered up his courage.

"Yeah?" Troy's eyes snapped back up to Ryan's face.

"Did you, um, feel that...sort of...shock?" Ryan looked away from Troy, trying not to show that he was a bright red again.

Troy licked his lips, wanting to answer the question in a way that would explain what he was feeling, and make sense at the same time. "I uh..."

Sadness flashed across Ryan's eyes, and he quickly smiled, and took a few steps back from Troy. "Yeah," He forced a laugh, "I rubbed my feet on the carpet. You know, static shock."

"Ryan-" Troy started, knowing that what Ryan had said was a lie.

"I gotta go." Ryan cut him off, turning on his heel and started to quickly walking away.

"Wait! Ryan!" Troy followed him, running across the stage to catch him, he finally remembered what he came here to do.

Ryan spun around just as Troy caught up to him. "I did. Ok? I felt it." Troy said, catching his breath. "I just don't know what it was, or anything like that." He added quickly.

"Well, me either." Ryan nodded, looking into Troy's eyes.

Looking back into Ryan's light blue eyes, Troy took a deep breath, feeling his heart skip a beat, he spoke softly, "Ryan, I want to try something." He took a step forward.

"What?" Ryan said nervously, taking a step back.

"I never run from my problems." Troy's voice got louder.

"What does that mean?" The smaller blonde boy gulped, taking another step back, as the taller, heavier built boy took another step towards him.

"Just trust me. I need do know." Troy's eyes were fierce with determination.

"What are you gonna do?" Ryan took his last step back because he had backed up against a wall.

Troy put his hands on Ryan's arms, holding him against the wall. Ryan's heart was racing. He didn't know what was going on. He didn't know how he had went from singing alone to being pinned up against a wall by Troy Bolton. He had had this fantasy at least once before, but now that it was actually happening, he was scared.

"Troy-" Ryan's voice was shaky.

Ryan's voice was cut short though as Troy leaned his head down and pressed his lips against Ryan's. Shock washed over Ryan, feeling Troy's warm lips, pressing softly against his. For about a second Ryan's eyes were open wide in complete disbelief, but after that he let them slide shut as he enjoyed the wonderful sensation.

Troy could feel Ryan's tense body start to relax under his fingers. On the inside he smiled. He knew he had the upper hand now. Gently, he brushed his tongue against Ryan's lower lip, asking for entrance. Troy had never felt this way before. They way Ryan tasted was so intoxicating. It made Troy want more and more. He could feel the sensation from his head to his toes. It was like shock waves of pleasure rippling through his body.

When Ryan finally opened his mouth, letting Troy in, Troy could barely contain himself. His tongue pushed in, dancing against Ryan's. He heard a soft moan escape from Ryan and this made Troy want it even more. His hands traveled from Ryan's arms to the blonde's chest. His left hand slowly traveled down, feeling Ryan's muscular chest and stomach. Troy's right hand snaked around the shorter boy's back, and lifted him up, bringing the boys closer, making the kiss even deeper.

Ryan's hands were planted on Troy's strong chest, keeping himself steady as he felt himself being pulled closer to Troy. He could feel Troy's hand traveling down his back which sent shivers up his spine. When the taller brunette's hand landed on Ryan's butt, Ryan couldn't help but let out another soft moan. All Ryan could do was move his hands to wrap around Troy's neck, giving Troy full access of whatever he wanted.

Just then, the bell rang, making the two boys pull apart. The looked up to the ceiling at the bell, both cursing mentally at it. They both knew that soon the auditorium would be flooded with freshman for their drama class. Pulling slowly apart, Ryan looked up to Troy's face to see that he was smiling.

"What?" Ryan asked innocently.

"I don't think I'm confused anymore." Troy laughed.

"Me either." The smaller boy joined in the laughter.

"Well, um. We should...get to class?" Troy stood back and stretched his hand above his head.

"Yeah." Ryan mumble, sad that free period had to end so quickly. "Do- do yo want to meet, after school?" Ryan asked as he followed the taller boy towards the auditorium doors.

Troy turned back to him with an unsure expression on his face. He didn't know if he wanted to or not. He knew that what had just happened was about the best kiss in his life, and he did want more. But he wasn't sure if he was ready to admit that. Being gay was one of the few things that scared him. He wouldn't know what he'd do if people started to treat him differently. He looked back at Ryan and saw that the blonde's face was filled with happiness. How could he say no to that? He could feel himself falling faster and faster for this boy.

"Yeah." He smiled. "That would be nice."

"Great!" Ryan gave Troy a huge smile before they said their good-byes and the both left in their separate direction for their next class.

There it is. Hope you like it. Third chapter should be up soon. School starts in about 7ish days (Yuck!), and I'll try to have it up by then. I'm starting to get an acutal plot in mind. (I think)

- OP


	3. Alone at Last

Hey everyone. Thanks for the reviews. It makes he happy that you guys like it. I tried to put a little more action, a.k.a, romancy stuff into this chapter. I might/most likely will be slowly down the chapters now because school starts in about two days. It makes me so sad that I've been listening to "What Time Is It?" and it's all about summer and there is no summer left! Cry But then again, I do love ignoring my school work. By the way, what did you guys think of HSM2? Did you all see Miley Cyrus?

Anywho, I hope you guys like this one.

**Disclaimer: Don't own HSM.**

**Chapter 3: Alone at Last**

Troy stood under a tree outside of the school. He was waiting for Ryan to meet him there, but for some reason, Ryan was running about ten minutes late. Troy didn't really mind because he didn't have anywhere to be, and Ryan probably had a good reason for being late anyway. It sort of surprised him how comfortable he suddenly seemed with the idea of having another guy over for another reason that playing basketball or something like that. He didn't feel weird or uncomfortable at all. Troy didn't actually know how he felt about the whole situation at all.

But Troy couldn't ignore that there was an undeniable attraction that he has for the shorter blonde boy. There was just something about him Ryan that made everything in Troy's body tingle. Whenever Troy thought of him his heart skipped a beat and he could feel the desires that laid in the back of his mind beginning to come out. And when they had kissed, it had been so arousing. Troy wanted more. But was it just physical attraction? Or did he want more?

After about three more minutes of waiting, Troy got bored and decided to go look for the blonde boy. But, to Troy's surprise, when he turned around, he saw none other than the person he wanted to see, standing not three feet away from him.

"When did you get there?" Troy asked, his face etched with confusion.

"About five minutes ago." Ryan smiled innocently.

"Why didn't you say anything?" The older brown haired boy scratched his head, not understanding the other boy at all.

"I did." Ryan giggled, "But you didn't say anything back. You looked like you were in a really deep conversation with yourself." Ryan's giggled turned into a laugh.

"Oh." Troy was basically speechless. "Sorry about that then."

"Oh, no problem." Ryan smiled again, innocent as ever. "Are we hanging out today?"

"Yeah!" Troy got his mind back on track, "Yeah, I wanted to ask you if you wanted to come over. I've got the house to myself until tomorrow. Parents out of town visiting my sick aunt."

"Oh, sorry about your aunt." Giving Troy a sympathetic smile, Ryan quickly added, "But yeah, I'd love to come go."

**HSM**

Ryan looked around his surroundings. He was a numerous amount of basketball trophies. All ranging from small ones to very large ones. The walls were painted a light blue, about the same color as the bed spread that Ryan was currently sitting on. Ryan turned his head, looking at the rather big bed that he was sitting on. There were about three or four big fluffy pillows at the head of the bed, and Ryan noticed that one was about to fall off, since the bed wasn't made. In fact, looking about the room, Ryan noticed that the bedroom wasn't very clean at all. It wasn't a huge mess or anything, but a few articles of clothing lay about the floor, and nothing seemed to be organized.

Crawling across the bed, Ryan grabbed the pillow, he fluffed it and put it back in it's place with the rest of the pillows. Flopping himself down on his stomach, he laid there, relaxing in the soft pillows and blanket. Suddenly, it hit him. He was in Troy Bolton's bedroom. He was basically laying on Troy's bed. Troy's parents weren't home.

'Is that why he invited me over.' Ryan's mind raced. 'He wants to do...that! Already?!'

"Hey!" Troy smiled warmly as he walked in the room, caring two bottles of water in his hands, but when he saw where the blonde boy was, he froze. 'Is that...what he wants to do...?' Troy's eye's wandered up and down Ryan, who was on his bed, on both his hands and knees. 'Is that...what he thinks I invited him over for?!' He blushed, as his eyes moved down Ryan's backside.

"Oh! Hey!" Ryan snapped his head around, finally hearing Troy, to see the tall boy standing in the door way, looking a bit dazed with a red tint to his entire face. "Are...you ok?"

Shaking his head clear of his dirty thoughts, "Yes! Yes, I'm fine." His face returned to it's normal color and Troy's lopsided grin came back. "Here's your water."

"Thanks." Ryan smiled, scooting over to the edge of the bed he took the bottle from Troy.

Unfortunately, the water bottle missed Ryan's hands and hit the floor. It rolled right under Troy's foot as he took a step towards the bed. Troy lost his balance and with a small grasp, toppled over onto the bed, landing directly on top of Ryan with a soft thump. Now Ryan laid flat on his back, pushed down on the soft bed by Troy's body.

Focusing his eyes after the surprise had past, Ryan looked up to see Troy's face not even five inches away from his own. He could feel the weight of Troy's upper body pushing down on his own chest and stomach while Troy's leg was pushing up against his inner thigh. Troy's other leg was positioned on top of Ryan's leg.

Feeling the heat rise to his face, Ryan could feel his heart beat quicken, and his breathing coming out of his mouths in short soft gasps. This made Troy become even more aware of their position. He could feel the blood rushing down his body, gathering between his legs. The physical attraction that the two boys had for each other was undeniable, and Troy's lips were slowly getting closer to Ryan's.

"Troy?" Ryan gasped, their lips centimeters apart.

"Yeah?" The brunette answered, licking his dry lips as Ryan's soft lips moved.

"It's getting hard to breathe."

"Oh." Troy laughed. "Sorry." He rolled off of Ryan, regaining control of himself.

The two boys laid there next to each other, completely different thoughts going through each of their heads. Troy couldn't understand how he could lose control of his what his body desired so easily. He had never thought of a girl in this way before. It scared him to think this because he was just coming to terms with the whole ordeal and he couldn't stop his body from going further than he wanted. Ryan on the other hand, was in a complete daze. He couldn't even begin to believe what was going on. His heart was pounding in his chest so hard he wouldn't be surprised if Troy could hear it. In fact, Ryan was pretty sure this was all a dream; a really good dream.

He hadn't talked to Troy in weeks, and now here he was. Lying on the boy's bed, the very boy next to him on top of it. They hadn't even spoken that much now even. Besides the brief conversation the had before the kiss at school and on the short walk to Troy's house. He knew that the other boy was just getting a grasp on the whole "liking guys" thing, but for someone who just figured it out for himself not two days ago, he sure was forward. He didn't even appear to look nervous at all.

'I am so nervous!' Troy's mind screamed.

Slowly turning his deep blue eyes to face the blonde drama king, Troy saw that the boy had an inner conflict. He could see it the boy's shining blue eyes. But then Troy's eyes started to wander down Ryan's face. They reached his soft pink lips, and Troy couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to kiss them again. His eyes traveled further down, down Ryan's clean shaven chin and neck, and to his muscular shoulders and chest that his shirt wasn't covering.

Ryan could feel Troy's eyes on him. He tried to remain as calm as possible, and not show any signs of being nervous. He didn't want to give Troy the upper hand, even though he knew that whenever Troy spoke, he had the upper hand.

"So!" Ryan sat up, "Are you excited for summer? It's only about three weeks away."

"Yeah." Troy sat up too, "Yeah, of course. I'm not doing anything exciting though, just hanging out here with the wild cats." He gave a small sort of depressed laugh.

"Oh, well. That sounds like fun." The blonde said, giving Troy a smile.

"What do you normally do during the summer?"

"Sharpay normally goes to our country club, but I'm pretty much free to do whatever I want." Ryan sighed. "It gets kind of boring. Most of the time I relax by the pool in our backyard. It's basically the same as the one at the country club, but more private." He ended with a nod.

"Oh really?" Troy asked, his brain developing mental images of Ryan in a swim suit even as Ryan continue to talk.

"Yeah, you could come by...if you wanted to..." The smaller boy stammered, not sure if it was the right time to ask.

"Hey, Ryan." Troy said quietly.

"Yeah?" He turned to look at the brunette, looking into the deep blue eyes that were staring straight at him.

"Do you like me?"

Ryan blinked. "Huh?"

"Do you," Troy repeated, a little more slowly. "..like me?"

"As what?" Ryan countered, he wasn't going to lose the upper hand that easily.

"You know," Troy was taken aback, "As...more...that just a friend."

"Isn't it a little early to be asking that?"

"Yes." Troy nodded, "But I can't fight this attraction that I have for you much longer. And I have to know what you think about it. And more importantly, about me."

Ryan smiled. Now he was in control. The answer was yes, of course, but he didn't want to let Troy off that easily. And it would be a lot more fun to play with him. Especially now that the boy had confessed that he was fighting an attraction.

"I dunno." Ryan said, turning his head, so Troy couldn't see the smiled that was slowly appearing on his face.

Troy could feel his heart sink. He knew it was more than just raging hormones in his body that was causing this undying attraction. He wanted to make it more than just a physical thing. He didn't care if he was gay. He wanted to be true to his heart. Though he could see how Ryan would turn him down. He had only realized this two days ago. It was all happening so fast. Troy looked up in surprise when he saw Ryan turn back to him, an innocent look on his face. He could feel his heart jump up in his throat. What was he doing? Was he teasing him?

"Do you...like me?" Ryan asked, in a low, husky voice. He over emphasize the words so that his lips looked plump and pink. Ryan knew how to work his body.

"I uh, " Troy gulped, catching sight of Ryan's lips, and Ryan could see the desire flash through the older boy's eyes.

"You don't?" Ryan asked, scooting closer to Troy, tilting his head closer to Troy's in an innocent manner.

"N-no. I-I d-do." Troy stammered as he felt Ryan's cool breath run do his neck.

"You do." Ryan repeated, moving his face so that their lips were almost touching.

Troy couldn't fight it anymore. These stupid games Ryan was playing. He couldn't control himself as he pounced on Ryan, pushing their lips together in a deep kiss. He pushed Ryan down on the bed, kissing him the whole way down. Ryan was now pinned to the bed again, Troy's strong hands holding Ryan's arms down, and his mouth on top of his. Troy's tongue pushed it's way into Ryan's mouth exploring the way he tasted.

Ryan smiled inwardly as he felt Troy's big strong hands start to move down his arm and to his chest, massaging his nipple. This is what he wanted. Ryan moved his now free hand to Troy's neck, pulling him closer to him. Ryan could feel something hard push into his leg as Troy's mouth traveled down his chin, licking and sucking on his neck, making the blonde moan softly with pleasure. Ryan felt Troy start to suck harder on the soft flesh of his neck and knew that there would be a mark there later.

"Ryan..." Troy whispered into the other boy's neck.

His hand started to moved down even further, and was now playing with the buckle of Ryan's pants. He undid the buckle with ease and was just about to put his hand inside of the soft pants when...

"Troy!" A voice yelled from downstairs, "Are you home?" It was his mother, and by the foot steps they heard, she was coming up there stairs.

Snapping his head up, Troy jumped off of Ryan, and wiped his mouth off. His mind raced as he tried to fix his hair and clothing, to make it look like nothing happened. He grabbed Ryan's hand and helped him up as fast as he could. Ryan had already re-done his belt and was wiping the saliva off of his neck. And just as Troy moved Ryan's collar up, to cover the angry looking purple hickey that he had just left, the door burst open.

"Hey, honey-oh! I didn't know you had a friend over." Troy's mother smiled at him. "Hi..."

"Ryan." Ryan smiled and waved at her, "Ryan Evans, it's nice to meet you."

"Ah, you too." Mrs. Bolton smiled back. "Troy, honey, your Aunt was faking. She didn't want to go to the dentist. Isn't that strange? A thirty-year-old woman playing sick." She shrugged.

"Yeah..." Troy let out a small laugh. "Weird." He was obviously upset about being interrupted.

"Yes, yes." His mother sighed, "Anyway, just wanted to let you know me and your father are home. Nice to meet you." She nodded at Ryan.

"You too." He smiled as she shut the door.

Both of the boys let out a big sigh, letting their body's relax. Troy didn't know what he would've done if he had been caught, making out with a_ boy_, in his bedroom. That would've been an awkward moment. 'Damn my body and these urges.' He thought as he looked at Ryan, who was trying to rub a suff mark out of his shoe.

"That was a close one." Troy flopped down onto the bed.

"Yeah." Ryan spoke, still rubbing his thumb on his shoe. "That would've been weird."

"You're tellin' me."

"Can you give me a ride home?" Ryan asked, putting his shoe back on. "I need to be home before 7:00. Otherwise my mom will get a little crazy."

"Oh, yeah. Sure." Troy said, his boyish charm in full affect on Ryan.

After making there way downstairs, and saying hello, good-bye, and thank you to Troy's parents, the two boys were out the door and in Troy's car. It took them about ten minutes to get to Ryan's house, and that time was spent talking about almost everything. Both of the boys were surprised how much they had in common, and they both really enjoyed each others company.

"Baseball?" Troy asked, pulling up to Ryan's house. "You'll have to show me how to pitch properly. I never really could."

"As long as you show me how to make the basketball go into the basket." Ryan laughed.

"Deal."

"I'll see you tomorrow then, Troy?" Ryan looked at Troy, "At school?"

Troy knew what Ryan was getting at, but decided to ignore it. "Of course." He smiled and leaned over, kissing Ryan gently on the lips. Ryan gave Troy one last smile before stepping out of the car and making his way up the driveway to his front door. He pushed the door open when he had gotten there and before he went in, turned back to Troy in his car, and waved good-bye. After that, he stepped inside and shut the door.

As Troy drove home, his mind was busy thinking about what Ryan had asked him. He knew that his question had meant more than just would he see him tomorrow. Of course he would see him. Ryan's underlining question was would it be the same tomorrow. He didn't know what he would do. He wanted to act exactly how he felt, but he wasn't sure if he was ready to be out in the open like that. He knew that his friends would probably treat him the same as they treated him now. No one treated Ryan badly as far as he could tell. Though thinking about someone being mean to Ryan made Troy's blood boil.

Troy knew at least one thing though. He wasn't going to ignore Ryan tomorrow. He wouldn't want to ruin anything with the blonde boy before things even got started. He smiled, thinking about Ryan made him happy. He drove the rest of the way home, thinking about what him and Ryan could do over the weekend, which was only one day away.

**HSM**

Ryan leaded back against the door. He was deep in thought about what tomorrow would be like. He didn't want Troy to ignore him, it would hurt a lot. He was already thrown enough from the way the basketball player was acting. One minute Troy would be looking at him, deep in thought with himself, and the next he would be on top of him, kissing him like there was no tomorrow. Though Ryan could not deny that he like it, it was still all very confusing. He wasn't sure if it was something genuine, or if it was just Troy's hormones ranging out of control. He began to walk upstairs, desperately hoping it was the first of the two.

"At least it's not a dream." Ryan smiled, as he walked into his room, and closed the door.

There it is. Hope you liked it. Please review.


	4. Mud

**Disclaimer: Don't own yada yada yada. **

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Chapter 4: Mud

Beep!!!

The alarm clock screeched in Troy's ear. Opening his eyes slowly, Troy glared at the annoying clock, it's big red numbers were flashing 6:00am. Thinking to himself that it was Friday, he slowly pushed his way past his pillows and turned of the buzzing clock. Deciding that it wasn't worth it to get up just yet, the basketball start buried his head in one of his huge fluffy pillows. Troy could still smell Ryan on the pillow. It reminded Troy what the two boys had did on the bed last night. Shaking his head quickly before he got himself aroused, he pushed himself out of bed.

Deciding it was best to take a cold shower before getting dressed to go downstairs for breakfast, Troy slowly stumbled off to the bathroom. He was not a morning person.

**HSM**

"Ryan!!!"

The alarm clock named Sharpay screeched in Ryan's ears. Pulling the covers over his head, Ryan mumbled something that sounded like "go away" into his pillow, not wanting Sharpay to be in his room. After about a few minutes of not hearing the blonde girl, Ryan sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes. His eyes scanned the room, looking for his sister, but she wasn't anywhere to be found.

The blonde boy slowly got out of his bed, and stretched, figuring Sharpay had gone back to her own room or somewhere else. He turned around and grabbed his real alarm clock and turned it off. He wouldn't be needing it this morning.

"Ryan." Sharpay snapped, walking briskly out of the boy's closet. The sudden sound caused Ryan to jump a little, and he hoped that his sister hadn't seen.

"Yes, Sharpay." He squeaked, trying to control his anger.

"I'm not going to school today." She stated. "I'm sick."

"You don't look sick." Ryan's eyes examined her, and he moved his hand over her forehead.

"I'm sick." She said, in an anger tone. "End of story." She swatted her brother's hand away from her head.

"Did you tell mom?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Cause."

"Cause why?"

"Ryan!" She ended the silly conversation they were having. "You're gonna be late for school."

Lifting the clock, which was still in his hands, up to his eye level, it was 6:45am. His eyes opened wide in shock. School started in 15 minutes! Where had the time gone?!

**HSM **

Ryan stood outside the doors of East High. He had made it to school on time, but was debating on whether or not he was actually going to go in. Leaning more towards skipping, and playing sick like Sharpay had done, Ryan pulled his cell phone out of his pocket to check the time. 6:56am. School started in only four minutes. It was a rather chilly morning, and Ryan pulled his jacket closer to him.

Sighing to himself, Ryan knew that he couldn't skip school. It just wasn't in him. Taking one last look down at himself, he groaned. He was dressed in slightly baggy gray sweat pants, A form fitting white t-shirt, and a gray zip up jacket. 'I've never looked so bad in my entire life.' He thought to himself as his eyes traveled down to his tan sandals.

"My shoes don't even match!" He let out a small sniff before trudging slowly to his first period class.

Ryan finally reached his class as the late bell rang. Walking straight to his desk, he slumped down into his seat, and folded his arms on his desk and rested his head on them. He didn't want to talk to anyone and clearly didn't want anyone to talk to him.

"Hey, Gabby." Troy greeted the dark haired girl as he walked into the class room.

"Hey Troy." She smiled., happy as ever.

"How are you this fine morning?" He asked, though he wasn't really paying attention. His eyes were scanning the room.

"I'm fine." She noticed his eyes moving about the room. "Looking for someone?"

"Nah, just looking around." He smiled, and finally looked at her. "So, do you have the chem homework?"

"Troy." She said, in a teacherly manner, "You should do your own homework."

"Yeah, but I was uh," he coughed, "Busy. Last night."

"Here." She gave in and handed him the homework he wanted.

"Is Ryan not here?" Troy asked her, taking the paper from her hand.

"He's in his seat." She pointed.

Troy's eyes looked over to Ryan's seat, seeing a gray blob of sweats. Thinking that couldn't be Ryan, he turned his head back to Gabriella to tell her that something else was in Ryan's seat, not the extremely attractive blonde that was always dressed to perfection. But when Troy's eyes caught sight of the bright blonde hair that belonged to Ryan, he had to do a double take.

"Yeah, " Gabriella understood what he was thinking, "Maybe he's depressed or something. I've never seen him dress like that."

Troy stood up and made his way over to Ryan. He couldn't stand the thought of the smaller boy being depressed. And he wanted to make sure that it wasn't anything to do with him. Maybe he had moved to fast last night. Maybe Ryan was having second thoughts. As Troy got closer to the slumped over boy, he could see that his eyes were wet, like he had been crying. This made Troy's heart do a nose dive as his mind continued to race, filling his head with horrible thoughts.

"Ryan?" Troy asked softly, "Are you ok?"

Ryan lifted his head slowly, and turned his watery blue eyes in Troy's direction. When Troy saw his eyes he couldn't help but reach out and grab the other boy's hand. He gave it a light squeeze trying to comfort the boy.

"Troy..." Ryan sniffed.

"Is it about us?" Troy asked in a hushed tone. "Was I moving too fast last night?" He was looking around to make sure no one was listening.

"No- I" He tried, but Troy cut him off.

"I understand." Troy whispered, desperately trying to re-assure Ryan that they could move slow. "I want you to know that I do want a relationship. Well, maybe that's a little forward. I am rushing this, aren't I? But it isn't just physical! I promise. We can go as slow as you want." He offered Ryan a smile, trying to see if any of this was making Ryan feel better.

"Troy..." The blonde whispered, not knowing what to say.

"It's ok." Troy looked down at his shoes, think Ryan was about to reject him.

"Troy!" Ryan yelled, catching the attention of a few of their classmates. But since it was so early in the morning, they decided not to care and returned to whatever else they had been previously doing.

"What?" the brunette's head snapped up to look at Ryan's.

"I was woke up late. That's all." He smiled.

"What?" A dumbfounded Troy stared at the blonde boy across from him.

"I didn't have any time today...and my shoes didn't match. It upset me." He explained, looking angrily down at his sandals.

"Mr. Bolton," A very embarrassed Troy heard their teacher's voice. "Please take your seat."

Troy shuffled to his seat, and sat there. Completely confused. He had just about confessed to Ryan that he wanted him in that _relationship_ kind of way. If last night wasn't going to far, then this probably was.

**HSM**

"Ryan!" Troy skidded to a stop as he reached Ryan at his locker.

Ryan turned around and smiled at the taller boy. "Hey, Troy." He turned back to his locker, setting some books neatly on a shelf that had been placed in the small metal rectangle.

"Listen," Troy started, "I'm really sorry about earlier." He leaned against the locker, "I don't know what came over me. I just was worried that you looked all sad because of me."

Ryan let out a small giggle. "You worry too much." He said while pulling a book out of the bottom of his locker.

"Well, ya know." Troy moved so his back was now leaning against the locker instead of his side. "Sometimes I just get all this energy when I get passionate about something."

"You're passionate about me?" Ryan asked, moving his locker door so he could get a better look at Troy's face.

"Yes!" Troy practically exploded. "I mean...yes." He repeated, more calmly.

"That's good to know." A smiling blonde said, closing the door to his locker.

"I just wanted to make sure I didn't freak you out, earlier." Troy stood in front of Ryan.

"You didn't Troy. Promise." Ryan smiled up at the taller boy.

"Hey, the gyms empty." Troy stated excitedly, "Want me to show you how to make a basket?"

"Let's go!" The bubbly blonde replied, feeling his own energy started to grow.

Troy grabbed Ryan's hand and turned towards the gym. They both walked down the hall, hand in hand, but Ryan walked a little too slowly for Troy's liking. So it was more like and overly excited Troy tugging a bubbly Ryan down the hallway. They both walked into the gym, and Troy quickly departed, saying he would be back shortly with a basketball.

Ryan spun around, looking at the gym. He hadn't really been here since he was a freshman. He hated gym class. The uniforms were awful. In fact, as Ryan looked down at his own outfit, they were a lot like what he was wearing now.

"Found one." Troy shouted from across the room.

Ryan turned to face him and smiled. "Good!" He yelled back.

"Now, the first thing you wanna do is," Troy explained as he jogged over to waiting blonde boy, "Line yourself up with the basket."

As he spoke Ryan followed his directions. He turned himself around and line his body up so he wasn't too far away from the hoop, but he wasn't too close either, and when he planted his feet firmly at where he thought he should be he heard Troy mutter a "good."

"Now," Troy said, handing the other boy the ball, "Hold the ball with your dominate hand, and hold it steady with your other. Line up your shot, and push the ball with almost all of your strength. Remember to keep your elbow tight." He tapped Ryan's elbow, indicating that it was too far out.

Ryan threw the ball and it soared through the air, hitting the back board. Unfortunately, it rolled around the rim of the basket a few times before falling to the hard wooden floor, bouncing back to the two boys.

"Aww, man." A discouraged Ryan groaned while picking up the basketball.

"Try like this." Troy spoke up, placing his hands on top of Ryan's smaller ones. Ryan could feel Troy's muscular chest push against his back and the taller boy's strong arms wrap around his own. They were so close that Ryan could feel the taller boy's heart beating against his back, making his own heart speed up. Troy aimed the ball in the correct position and pushed Ryan's hands, making the basketball fly the short distance to the basket.

_Swish._

"Yes!" Exclaimed Ryan, spinning around to fast his "coach."The overly excited blonde had forgotten just how close he was to the brunette behind him, and when he turned his nose was pressing up against his strong chest.

"Oh, sorry." Ryan said, his happiness bubbling out of him.

"For what?" Troy laughed, bring his arms up to wrap tightly around smaller boy.

They stayed there like that, both of not wanting to move. Troy rested his chin on Ryan's head, breathing in the sweet scent of Ryan's hair. Troy figured it was the shampoo Ryan used, because it smelled like pears. He could feel the petite boy's heart beating softly, against his chest, and wondered why it was pounding so fast. Troy smiled to himself, for it seemed that he could increase the blonde's heart rate quite easily.

Beep beep! Beep beep!

"Huh?" Troy looked down at Ryan.

"Ah!" Ryan yelped in panic, realizing it was his cell phone alarm. "I'm late!"

"What?" Troy asked, confused as ever.

"I'm late!" Ryan repeated, backing away from Troy, "I'm late!"

"For what?"

"No time! Here..." Ryan said, giving Troy a piece of paper. "That's my number. Call me later, okay?" He gave Troy one last smile before running out of the gym. He was suppose to meet Sharpay at the mall in 20 minutes and he still had to go home and change.

"Okay..." Troy mumbled, looking down at the piece of paper.

**HSM**

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Ryan asked, feeling a little self-conscious.

"Yes." Stated Sharpay, who was dressed in only a pink bikini. "Now, let's go. You are so pale!" She exclaimed, putting extra emphasis on the word pale.

Ryan took in a deep breath and removed his shirt, revealing his pale chest. He was fit and muscular from all of the dancing he had done in his life, but the ghostly white skin gave him an extra glow. He put his arms around himself, feeling out of place in the tanning salon. He was dressed in only a small bathing suit that extended down about three inches down his pale legs. All in all, he was basically naked.

He moved to follow Sharpay, who was being led to their room, by an employee of the salon. The twins entered their room and were each shown their separate tanning beds. After being shown how to use the machines, the employee departed, leaving the twins alone.

"Aren't this things unhealthy?" Ryan asked, not wanting to get in the strange contraption.

"No." Sharpay stated. "Do they look unhealthy?"

"They look like a coffin." Her brother responded grimly.

"Just get in. We'll be done in 15 minutes and we'll go." She said, as she lifted herself into the bed, "You'll be nice and tan too."

"Fine." Ryan gave in, climbing into his tanning bed.

Ryan laid there, feeling the heat begin to increase. It surrounded his body as the already bright lights of the bed got even brighter. He could feel the heat wrap around his pale body, the warm sensation actually feeling rather pleasant As the minutes rolled by, Ryan began to shift uncomfortably. The heat was getting uncomfortable, and he could feel his skin beginning to cook.

"Sharpay?" He asked, wanting to know when a person would know when they were tan enough.

He did not get an answer though. 'Great.' He thought, knowing that she had her ipod on, and wasn't going to be able to hear him at all.

Finally, not being able to bear the heat any longer, Ryan pushed the top of the bed open, and got out. He felt the instant rush of cool air flowing over his soft skin, and felt almost instant relief from the hot "coffin." Exiting the room, Ryan went to look for an employee that could point him in the direction of a water machine. He desperately needed something to drink.

**HSM**

Troy spun around, looking for Gabriella. He was at the mall, and was suppose to be meeting her there so they could have dinner. It was nothing serious, but they were friends and that's what friends do. Finally spotting her, he called her name while waving his arms. She easily saw the tall boy, long arms flailing, and rushed over to meet him.

"Hey!" Troy smiled, giving her a hug.

"Hi." She returned the smiled. "Let's go, I'm starving!"

"Ditto." Troy agreed, and they were on their way.

The two teens made their way through the mall, passing shops and people. Ever so often Troy would see someone he knew, because he pretty much knew everyone, and would wave a quick hello before continuing on with Gabriella. Once they reached the restaurant that Gabriella wanted to eat at, she quickly departed, saying she had to go to the restroom and that she'd be right back.

Troy stood outside of the food shop, looking around at the different stores to keep himself entertained. There were the normal clothing stores, a few food places, and a new store. It had big colorful posters all along it's windows, advertising it's grand opening. Walking closer to the store that was now the center of his interest, he realized that it was a salon. It looked pretty high class.

"Huh." Troy mumbled to himself, reading the poster on the large glass window, "Hair...nails...massage...tanning..." He read down the list of included treatments. It was like a country club spa. It offered everything from manicures to mud-baths.

"Yes, Ms. Evans."

Troy's ears perked up at the sound from the inside of the salon. That could only mean one thing. Troy leaned inside the store and saw just who he expected. Sharpay was sitting in a comfortable looking chair, getting he hair styled while having both her hands and feet massaged. Why was he not surprised? Quickly backing out of the store, Troy turned to quickly walk away before she noticed him. He didn't want her causing a scene which she probably would.

"And what of Mr. Evans?" Asked one of the employees.

This made Troy stop, and turned back about. 'Ryan?' He thought, as he pressed his ear up against the glass, not noticing the looks he was getting from the people in the mall walking by the new salon.

"Move him to the mud bath." She sighed, not wanting to bother with her brother, "He got a little red during his tanning session. That should cool him off a bit." She smiled and focused her attention back to her treatment.

Troy quickly pulled out his cell and sent a text to Gabriella. _Get a table. I'll be there in a few mins._

Sneaking past the ice queen, and her employees, Troy moved quietly into the salon, following the signs for the mud bath rooms.

**HSM**

Ryan lowered his burning body into the cool, thick mud. He felt instant relief as the mud touched his red skin. He was annoyed that Sharpay had made him get into that coffin of death the called a tanning bed. His once milky skin was now the color of cherry. A cherry that had been put in an oven for 20 minutes!

Laying his head back against the pillow on the side of the large square tub, Ryan thought about what he was going to do when Monday rolled around when he'd have to go to school. Everyone would defiantly notice something different about his appearance. Sighing, he closed his eyes, and hoped that mud would soothe his damaged skin and lessen the redness.

"I'll take a nice aloe bath when I get home..." He mumbled to himself, keeping his eyes closed. He hadn't noticed how tired he was. "At least..." He yawned, "...Troy can't see..."

"Troy can't see what?" A voice interrupted him.

"That I'm as red as a tomato." Ryan responded, as if it was the most obvious answer ever, "Duh."

"You _are _a bit red." The voice laughed.

Then it hit him. Like a ton of bricks. Ryan was talking to someone. He had been so wrapped up in what he was thinking he hadn't even realized that he was talking to someone! 'Oh no.' He thought, 'That laugh...'

Opening only his right eye slightly, Ryan saw who he had been talking to. Unfortunately for Ryan, he was not going crazy and talking to himself like he had hoped, because Troy was kneeling down in front of him, hands on his knees with his head leaning down so it was only a few inches from Ryan's.

"AH!" Ryan yelped, and bolted up, "What are you doing here?!"

"Just came to see you, my little mud angel." Troy smirked at Ryan, watching the mud slowly slide down Ryan's muscular body.

"How did you get in here?" Ryan voice was hushed, as he quickly sunk himself back into the mud to hide his basically naked body from Troy's eyes, which he could feel running up and down him.

"I walked, Ry." Troy said, standing up, feeling the buzzing of his cell phone in his back pocket. Gabriella must be wondering where he was. "And I should probably be walking back out. I just wanted to see how red you got. Did you know you can hear your sister through those thick glass walls?"

"It's not really that hard to believe." The blonde replied.

"Right." Troy gave his lopsided grin, "Text me when you done bathing, my sweet, sweet little mud angle."

Ryan waved an mud covered hand as he saw the object of most of his thoughts exit the room. It was tiring being Troy's...boyfriend? Was that what Ryan was to him? Ryan had never really thought about it. They had gone farther then normal couples would've gone after first discovering their feelings for each other, but they had never agreed on what they actually were. Were they together? Or was Ryan just a friend with benefits?

All of this made Ryan's head hurt. He didn't want to be used as a object of lust, and he didn't want to do things with Troy unless they were official. 'I guess I was just caught up in the moment.' He thought to himself as he returned himself to the position he had been in before Troy had rudely interrupted him. These stupid question kept creeping up into Ryan's mind and he didn't like it. But he was sure that he wanted to ask Troy what was up.

Then his mind reeled right back around. Did Troy want him as his boyfriend? Ryan would admit that it would be quiet amazing. Ryan Evans, the drama geek, and Troy Bolton, god of East High, together. It was something the he would need getting used to. Ryan leaned back and smiled. Troy; his boyfriend. He liked that.

Ryan sighed and looked down at the bright brown mud that covered his body. Everything that he was feeling was about as clear as mud. That was his life at the moment.

Mud.

**To be Continued. **

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Sorry it took so long, been major swamped with school. Stupid school. But anyway, I tried to make this chapter a bit longer and a little funnier. I'm building up to something exciting. I can't tell you, cause that would ruin it. But the next chapter is going to be full of a lot more...stuff. Haha.

Review!

**- Opium Pocky **


	5. Take it Slow

Sorry it took so long, I've been really busy with school. But, here ya go!

Disclaimer: Don't own.

**Chapter 5: Take It Slow**

Troy jogged down the street, his dark brown hair sticking to his sweat covered brow. He was training for basketball season, which started up again in the next couple of months. Turning a corner, he pushed himself, ignoring the pain in his legs, and sprinted to the end of the street. Slowing down to a walking pace, he wiped the sweat out of his eyes and took a look around him. Throwing his heads behind his head so he could breathe easier, Troy continued to walk. The path that he was one made a giant loop around the park and would eventually lead him back to his home.

Although Troy's attention looked like it was focused on training for his sport, his mind was racing on another subject. A certain person, would be more accurate. A certain blonde boy type person. 'Ryan...'

Troy shook his head. He couldn't get Ryan out of his mind. It had been like that ever since that had kissed. It seemed that every fiber of his being had locked in the feeling of Ryan's soft, warm lips pressing against his. And every part of him was screaming out for it to happen again! It was like an addiction! Just not as unhealthy.

The brunette turned a corner, seeing his house appear in the distance. He knew that he didn't want to rush anything, in fear that the blonde would get scared and reject him. Ryan did seem assertive at times, but Troy was pretty sure that Ryan would avoid conflict pretty much all together. But the aching in his chest was getting hard to take.

'Liking girls was so much easier.' Troy thought, as he finally reached his front door. 'But I like a challenge.' He smiled to himself as he pushed the door open and walked in.

Upon walking through the door, Troy was greeted by his ever loving mother.

"Your phone buzzed." She said, handing him his cell phone. "Don't worry, I didn't peek." She smiled, seeing the way her son was looking at her.

"Thanks, ma." Troy smiled back at his mother as she returned to where she came from.

Walking up the stairs, Troy opened his phone, to check his message. It was a text from Ryan. They had been exchanging text messages ever since Ryan had given Troy his number. It was nice to have a constant connection with Ryan, but it was nothing compared to actually being able to talk to him...or touch him...

The still sweaty teen grabbed a towel on his way to the bathroom, so he could shower, while reading his message. _**Spiders do scare me, but I wouldn't scream if I saw one. **_

Troy smiled as he read the message, clicking the buttons on the key pad to respond, _**Liar. **_

Throwing the phone on his bed, Troy entered the bathroom anxious to get clean. He was beginning to be able to smell himself, and it wasn't pleasant. Troy reached into the shower and turned on the water, adjusting it so it was the perfect warm temperature.

While waiting for the water to heat up, Troy decided it would be a good idea to practice his "faces" in the mirror. He cocked his head, and winked, trying to display a seductive "come get me look." Continuing on, the brunette made face after face, trying the perfect one. More importantly, one that would make Ryan go weak in the knees. He needed a perfect "come hither" kind of stare. Sadly, it wasn't working. It was more likely to freak Ryan out.

As Troy quickly shed his clothes and stepped into the shower, he realized that his mind was constantly on a certain small blonde. He found it strange that in only one week his world was completely turned upside down.

Feeling the warm water rush over his matted hair, Troy felt the warm sensation race down his body and the water quickly poured down him. He lifted his face up to the water, washing away the sweat that still lingered on his forehead.

Troy quickly washed up and stepped out of the shower, to feel the cool air rush over his body, sending a chill down his spine. It almost felt the same feeling as kissing Ryan. Troy smiled, and walked to his room, towel wrapped around his waist. He picked up his phone, knowing that a message from Ryan was waiting for him.

_**Do you want to do something this weekend? I mean, you don't have to, I was just wondering.**_ Troy could tell that Ryan was probably nervous just by reading the message. Troy could almost picture the red blush across Ryan's soft face. Though, you probably couldn't tell if Ryan was blushing because his skin was still burnt from the tanning bed.

_**Sure. Wanna catch a movie?**_ Troy sent a reply message.

And as if on cue, Troy's phone buzzed mere moments after his message was sent.

_**Yes! I don't think there are any good ones out though.**_ Troy couldn't help but grin at how fast his crush had responded. He walked out of his room and down the stairs into his kitchen thinking, 'Could he make it anymore obvious.'

_**Come over to my place, we'll watch something here. Tomorrow, 6:00pm **_Troy closed his phone. He would have to find a good movie for them to watch. "I bet he likes scary movies." Troy smirked to himself.

**HSM**

Ryan let out a huge sigh and let his body relax down against the bed underneath him. Troy had invited him over to his house. Troy Bolton's house. Only one thought ran through the petite boy's mind. One very, very,_ very_, serious question.

"What am I gonna wear?"

**HSM**

Ryan stood outside of Troy's house, feeling very awkward. He rocked back and forth on his heels, and brought his hands up to check his watch for the forth time. 5:52. Only one minute had past since the pervious watch check. Ryan didn't want to make it look like he was desperate by showing up to early, so, obviously his solution was to knock on the door at 6:00pm exactly. That way he would just be on time.

'I won't look desperate, I'll just look...crazy...' Ryan thought, as he frantically moved his head side to side to make sure that no one was around watching him. 'Oh boy...'

'At least I look good.' Ryan smiled at that thought, looking down at his appearance. He was sporting a form fitting light blue shirt with a white paint splatter trail running from his upper chest to his lower stomach, and tight fitting white jeans. 'And my shoes match.' He smiled even wider, examining his perfectly shiny white chucks. There was even a blue and white belt to match. Last, and certainly most important, covering his messy spiked blonde hair, was his favorite white hat. Not to mention his skin had returned to it's natural milk like color.

Being rich had it's advantages.

**HSM**

Troy ran his rough hands through his hair one last time, making sure it was perfect. It looked darker than usual, mostly because he had gelled it up, in a messy bed head sort of way. Checking himself, one more time in the mirror to make sure he looked good, he spun himself 360 degrees trying to examine every inch of his own body. He had decided to was wear a striped collar shirt, dark blue, light blue, and white, to bring out his eyes. Dark jeans, to match the dark blue on his shirt, and to bring it all together, a white belt, also matching his shirt.

Trying out his signature smile, the one that he practiced yesterday, and gave himself a final nod and headed downstairs to make sure everything was ready. Everything was perfect; his parents were gone, he looked amazing, and the boy he had been thinking of for the past week was coming over to his house to...watch a movie. Ryan would be arriving at his house any minute, and Troy wanted to be prepared. But as he passed a window on the way into his living room, something caught Troy's eye.

Taking a few steps back so he could look out the window, Troy focused his grey blue eyes on the figure standing in front of his door. The person was just standing there, rocking back and forth on their heels, and seemed to be...examining the door? But all of a sudden the person started freaking out, shaking their head side to side. 'What in the world...?' Was all Troy could think.

Deciding to confront this crazy person that was having an episode on his front porch, Troy marched up to his front door. He didn't want the person scaring off Ryan.

"Now listen," Troy started as he opened the door, "You can have your crazy freak out somewhere else, but I need you to leave..." He trailed off as he saw who was standing in front of him.

A very embarrassed looking Ryan, stood there, hands behind his back. Troy could see that he had been taken off guard by the sudden opening of the door, and Troy observed the smaller boy shake a little in fear and embarrassment.

"Ah..ha..ha...hi..." Ryan mumbled, his face beet red, and an embarrassed smiled plastered on his face.

"Ryan!" Troy's eyes widened, as he regained his composure, "No! You don't have to leave! I thought...well, I thought you were some crazy person dancing with my door. Or...I uh...well, what were you doing?" He fumbled for the right words, trying to cause Ryan to become anymore embarrassed then he already was.

"I...I don't know!" Ryan's voice cracked, as he still attempted to hid his embarrassment by smiling. "I didn't want to seem desperate by showing up early! But I wanted to see you! And I didn't know if I should knock, or ring the door bell, or if I should've brought anything, because you didn't say to, but you didn't say not to and I...I am just so confused!" His voice trailed off, replaced by small unsteady gasps of air.

'Oh boy.' Troy thought as he placed an arm around Ryan's shoulders, leading him into the house. "You didn't have to bring anything. You have nothing to worry about! I'm the host and I have everything taken care of."

Ryan's body instantly relaxed as he let out a very large sigh. "Whew. I feel better." He smiled up at Troy. He didn't really know why he had gotten so flustered. Troy had a way of doing that to him, making his emotions all spill out of him at once. Spill...explode. Same thing.

"Hey Ryan," Troy started, as he led the smaller boy to the couch in the living room. "What exactly are we?" He asked, as the both sat down next to each other.

"Boys." Ryan stated simply with a nod of his head, not catching what Troy was really asking.

"No," Troy held back his laughter, still trying to keep the serious tone in his voice.

"You're not a boy?!" Ryan stared at him in shock.

"Ry!" Troy slapped his hand softly against Ryan's mouth, keeping the boy from saying anything else that would make him burst out in laughter.

"I meant," He said, his voice strong and a little forceful, "Are we...a couple? Or are we...just friends? Or...what are we?" He was looking directly into Ryan's ice blue eyes, that were staring back at him. But they didn't have any confusion in them at all, unlike Troy's, which were clouded with uncertainty.

"Mhmfpmm." Ryan said into Troy's hand.

"Oh, sorry." He smiled, and removed his large hand from the boy's mouth.

"I said," Ryan repeated, his voice had an air of serious and confidence. "I don't think we should rush into anything just yet."

Troy's heart sunk a little, but he hid it well, "You're right. I mean, it's only been three days or something like that." He laughed.

"Yeah!" Ryan smiled back, "We have the rest of the school year!"

"And summer!" Troy added, feeling better. "Besides, I should probably take you out on a date before we make it a official or anything."

Ryan's heart skipped a beat. Did he just hear what he thought he heard? His ears weren't playing tricks on him, were they? Did Troy just kind of sort of ask him on a date? Ryan quickly hid his surprise and tried to play it off. He was an actor after all.

"Yeah, at least buy me dinner first." He laughed.

**HSM**

Ryan woke to the sunlight shining brightly through his window. He was laying in his own bed, still thinking about last night. It had been perfect. Troy was wonderful company, which was probably why he was the most popular guy at school. Not to mention his smile made Ryan practically melt. But that was beside the point.

Ryan lifted himself up so his head was propped up against the backboard of his bed. He had told Troy that he wanted to take it slow because he didn't want to ruin it. Troy wanting to be with him was one of the most exciting, wonderful, once in a life time things that would ever happen.

"What are the odds?" Ryan smiled to himself, as he turned his head to peer outside the window, "One in a million."

"Ryan!" Sharpay basically busted down her brothers door.

"Yes?" Ryan answered calmly, used to the behavior of his sister.

"You got a letter." She smiled, tossing the letter to him.

"Really?" The blonde boy's energy level shot up as he grabbed the letter, tearing it open almost instantly. Sharpay waited anxiously as she watched her younger brother read the letter.

"I was accepted..."

I hope you like it. Please Review!


	6. Update!

Hey everyone!

Sorry it's been soooooo long since I've added a chapter. I've been extremely busy with my freshman year of college and everything. Life has been so crazy! But I'm going to do my best to start writing again and get the chapters up here as fast as I can. I have a whole bunch of great ideas that I'm playing with. Now, here's the thing. I was reading over this story the other day, and decided I didn't really like it. So, I'm going to be doing so re-writes and some editting. The same basic plot and story line will be in place, it'll just be a lot better, I think. I'm hoping to do this rather soon, and I've already started working on chapter 1.

Thanks everyone!

Much Love,

OP


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